Building Buildings

Brandon has not been idle in the past weeks while I've been away for work.  He's been building.  With a work space for making art, and a need for painting storage in mind, he made an addition to the shed barn where we store most of the farm tools and hay.  Working alone, he's managed to nearly complete the "studio," which has a plywood floor, metal roof, and even a nice window, that was given to us by some good friends when it was left over from their home renovation.  Since he texted me the photo above, he's framed in the front wall, so all that's needed to keep the chickens and dogs out is a big door.  He has plans for chicken wire additions to the neighboring bay, which will allow us to store finished art works in the dry, without fear of farm animal contamination.    

When I would get home from work, it's always fun to see his progress.  In this photo, you can see how the new addition is attached to the old shed.  Some of our artist friends have such nice studios.  Immaculate spaces with display rooms and white walls, even.  Brandon assures me that the way he works, he would destroy those clean spaces, and that working at home with the doors thrown open, near his wood shop and barn suits him just fine.  He also has a nice studio at the university, that's temperature controlled, and has a giant skylight.  

Stormy skies over the new building.

Not only has the studio and painting storage project made significant progress, we are nearly pig capable!  Jamie and Brandon were able to sink wooden posts in our back field, to create a small pig pasture.  Most of the posts were harvested cedar trees from our friends farm, and a few have been re-purposed from places around our farm.  

The wooden gate that used to be on the old shed has been relocated to the pig fence.  It hasn't been hung yet, and the fence hasn't been stretched, but we're closing in on it!

To create a shelter for our future bacon pigs, four posts were sunk in the dirt, then framed in with two by threes, and the whole thing has been clad in sheets of old metal roofing.

The long metal pieces for the roof were purchased from Craiglist, but the siding was recycled from our shed.  We added it up, and this is an eighty dollar pig house.  Not bad!

I like the different colors on the old metal sheets.  It's seems rustic, and appropriate for a pig shed.  We located the shed along the back of the fence, as far from the garden and house as possible, and placed it so it gets shade in the evening from the adjacent tree line.  Our hope is that it will provide shelter from the sun and the rain for at least four pigs at a time.  We don't plan to keep pigs through the winter, so hopefully it won't matter if it's a bit drafty.   I hope they like it!